Seneca removal survivor Brenda Pierce Deeghan describes how a dream she had led to 40 years of Remember the Removal so younger Senecas won’t forget how people were forced from theirn homes to make way for the Kinzua dam. More than 150 Senecas attended this year’s observance at the new Red House bridge.
By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
RED HOUSE — Emotions ran high Saturday morning as Seneca Nation members solemnly remembered removal from their homes to make way for the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir.
As mist rose from the Allegheny River, more than 150 Senecas stood on the new Red House Bridge over the Allegheny River, to mark the 40th Remember the Removal ceremony.
The U.S. Corps of Engineers building of the Kinzua culminated in 1964 with the removal of residents of several Seneca communities along the river and the destruction of their homes as the water rose in the new reservoir.
After an opening prayer in the Seneca native language from Alan Dowdy, Rodney Pierce, a survivor whose family was displaced from their home in Onoville introduced the speakers including two former presidents, Dennis Bowen Sr., and Moe John, and his sister, Brenda Pierce Deeghan.
It was a dream of Mrs. Deeghan that she shared with friends back in 1984 that led to Remember the Removal. “It destroyed our way of life,” she said.
The dream involved her Seneca ancestors standing on the old Red House bridge that connected Seneca communities. They expressed sadness over the loss of Seneca land to the reservoir. It was a sadness that continues to dwell in the hearts of many Senecas.
“They were very sad because we had walked away,” she said. “We turned our backs on our land. We forgot all about where we lived.”
When the women led by Mrs. Deeghan spoke to the Tribal Council of the dream and the lingering sadness, they were given funds to hold what would become the first Remember the Removal. “The walk started right here, where the ancestors had walked. And they walked all the way (to Steamburg). We shared what we had and we cried and we grieved together,” she added
“And so we came together as a group and we talked together. We said we have to do something about this. We said we need a day where we can all come together as a people, as one. We remember our homes, we remember our lands, we remember our ways.”
Rick Miller/Olean Star
Bennett Wheeler and Carolyn Brany, both heads of households who are survivors of the removal of Senmecas from their homnes to make way for the Kinzua dam, hold a wreath they placed in the Allegheny River Saturday at the Rememeber the Removal ceremony on the Red House Bridge.
Mrs. Deeghan also recalled the graves of the ancestors that were removed to other cemeteries including Cornplanter Cemetery. But there are also unmarked graves that erode into the river from time to time.
Bowen, the former Seneca president, pointed to the “wampum belt” design along the top of the new Red House bridge. The design shows Senecas joining hands, similar in design to the Washington wampum belt.
The push for more electrical power from river dams like Kinzua began in Congress before the end of World War II, in which the fathers of many elders fought, Bowen said. They were planning to steal Seneca land back then, he added.
Bowen urged younger Senecas to study history, saying, “The further back in history you can go, the better you can see the future again. The furthest knowledge you can have of history, the better you can see the future for our people.”
Seneca history from the mid-1800s has included Indian boarding schools where they were taken after being removed from their families, from their culture and their language. More than 500 Seneca children were taken from their homes and sent to the Indian school in Carlisle, Pa., Bowen said
The last of the Indian schools closed in the 1960s and 1970s. The forced assimilation policy was officially ended in the U.S. in 1969. Almost all Senecas known of a family member who was sent to an Indian school.
Gov. Kathy Hochul recently visited the Cattaraugus Territory to issue a formal apology to the Seneca people for the state’s role in the Thomas Indian School.
Despite all the things that have happened to the Senecas, Bowen their happiness level goes up and down, “but joy abides.” He called it Sge:no’ or peace and wellness.
Bowen asked everyone to “spend time learning about kinship. It is Sge:no’. Our elders have said that kinship is the foundation on which our clan system stands. So when we hear the word Sge:no’, we pray your next thought is love, kinship, clanship. I also have to let you know this is a wonderful day that the Creator has given us. Bless us with a warm day, sunny and warm.”
Senecas walk to the Steamburg Community Center from the Remember the Removal Ceremony at the Red House Bridge on Saturday.
John, another former Seneca president, looked over at the river and said, “When you live along the river, it’s a good feeling.” He said he has many good memories. “Sge:no’,” he said. He said the people at the ceremony may yet get a chance to fight for their land.”
Other former Seneca presidents attending included Robert Odawi Porter and Todd Gates.
Two heads of households who were among the Senecas forced from their homes on the Cattaraugus Territory for the Kinzua dam, Bennett Wheeler and Carolyn Brant cast a wreath into the river as part of the Remember the Removal ceremony.
President J. Conrad Seneca said this year’s Remember the Removal observance comes at a time when there is hope to restore some of the land seized for the dam to the families of the former owners.
Earlier this year, President Seneca signed an executive order to urge descendants of families who had their property seized below the 1,365 elevation, to check with the clerk about making a claim to properties above the 1,340 elevation.
The 1365 Committee under Tyler Heron has worked for the past several years to hasten the return of the land, said President Seneca. “Return this land so that people can inhabit it once again and build their homes and raise their families here.”
The Seneca president said that Rep. Nick Langworthy has introduced a bill in Congress to return the Seneca property between 1,340 and 1,365 elevation.
Except for some of the elders who rode on buses most Senecas walked 1 ½ miles from the bridge to the Steamburg Community Center. They followed a group of Seneca singers who had performed at the bridge.
The state Department of Transportation built the new bridge over the past 1 ½ years. The former five-span steel truss bridge was demolished in 2023. A plaque stands nearby outlining the bridge’s history and importance.
